Akili Smith was born in San Diego, California and was a standout football and baseball prospect at Lincoln High School, also the alma mater of Pro Football Hall of Famers Marcus Allen and Terrell Davis. Smith was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh round (206th overall) of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft and played for the Gulf Coast League Pirates from 1993–1994, and the Erie SeaWolves of the New York–Penn League in 1995.
Akili eventually decided to pursue his football interests and attend Grossmont Junior College for two years prior to transferring to the University of Oregon in 1997 and came into the national spotlight of draft discussions because of his performance in his senior season at Oregon in 1998, throwing 30 touchdown passes in only 11 starts in college. Smith received the CO-Offensive Player of the Year award for the Pac-10 during his 1998 senior campaign.
Cincinnati Bengals
Smith was drafted 3rd overall in the NFL draft and missed a large portion of training camp during his rookie season in 1999 due to contract disputes. On August 24, 1999, he signed a seven-year contract worth up to $56 million with a $10.8 million signing bonus.
During the four years he was with the Bengals, he started in 17 games and threw five touchdown passes and 13 interceptions, eventually leading to his release on May 31, 2003.
In 2003, Smith tried out for the Green Bay Packers, as Brett Favre’s backup. He was, however, unsuccessful there and was later released. In 2005, he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a stint in NFL Europe where he started four games for the Frankfurt Galaxy.
On April 28, 2007, Smith signed a two-year contract with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, where he was expected to compete for the starting quarterback position with former NFL player, Henry Burris. In his first regular season action, Smith replaced Burris in the second quarter against the Toronto Argonauts finishing 6-of-10 for 63 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. With the impending return of a healthy Burris, the Stampeders released Smith on October 10, 2007.